Posted by Rescue Mission Team on Wed, Apr 10, 2013
It's hard to finish because completion is always opposed, challenged, resented or feared. By others and by yourself.
While those closest to you often cheer and celebrate you, others will be unsettled by you completing. Even if the completion is related to simple tasks. Completion threatens others, it pushes others to examine why they've not finished what they've started.
It is also difficult because completion means opening yourself up to critique. Once you determined that something is "finished" you have to put it out there to be judged. For many people that can be difficult emotionally.
Completion is difficult because everything in us fights against it. We comfort ourselves with thoughts like "I've tried", "At least I got started" and "It's just too difficult" in order to make us feel better about not finishing.
It's also a spiritual problem, we are opposed on a spiritual level. Everything in this world fights against victory and completion of something good. To finish is to do something spiritual, no matter how practical the task.
So whatever it is, work hard to finish, to complete what you've begun. You'll experience emotional, personal and spiritual breakthrough whenever you "complete."
What thoughts, discouragements and beliefs keep you from completing? In my life I've noticed that I struggle to complete tasks that seem to "stretch on forever". The task becomes bigger and bigger in my mind, making it hard to want to finish. Share with me what you think about completion.
David Curry
Read all of David Curry's blogs at
http://blog.rescue-mission.org or visit the Rescue Mission at
http://www.rescue-mission.org
Posted by Rescue Mission Team on Mon, Dec 10, 2012
The Christmas season, and other holidays as well, can be stressful for everybody. This may be especially true for people who are in recovery and have Christmas memories that are painful.
One factor which makes the Christmas season, according to psychologists, is that there are so many events and expectations that are different from the normal routine.
Having healthy boundaries, knowing in advance what you are committed to do...and what you won't do, will help to relieve some stress of the unexpected.
Many people know that they need good boundaries, but they miss one important element: Knowing what they want to do.
It's easy to feel trapped into obligations, other peoples expectations, and someone else's idea of a fun Christmas, but the question is: Do you have any better idea?
Often we dont' even know ourselves what we would prefer to do, so we get stressed and bent out of shape by others expectations. The more proactive way to approach it is to write out a plan for your best Christmas. What would you like to do? Who would you like to celebrate with? What would you want to make sure you don't miss?
Plan your Christmas around some of your own personal highlights so that you have some control over you life. If you don't have a plan for your own life, don't be surprised if you end up getting pushed into someone else's plan.
What is a favorite Christmas tradition that you plan to do this year? Share it with me, and what you do to have healthy boundaries at Christmas.
-David Curry
Read all of David Curry's blogs at
http://blog.rescue-mission.org or visit the Rescue Mission at
http://www.rescue-mission.org
Posted by Rescue Mission Team on Mon, Nov 21, 2011
You've got few precious days & hours before Thanksgiving. You could wait until Thursday to enjoy Thanksgiving, or you could start right now. Why wait?!?!
Here is a short list of things you could do before Thanksgiving to make this week great:
1. Plan a blessing for your Thursday dinner guests. Chances are that you will be sitting around the table with people you know well, but do they know what/why/how much you appreciate them? Why not write some small notes to each person you are expecting to see this week with a simple statement: I'm thankful for you because....
2. Make a list of things for which you are thankful . Every year you're stumped when it comes time to say something you are thankful for. Make a list today of things, big and small, that you should and do appreciate.
3. Do three nice things between Thursday and Monday. Is it possible that Thanksgiving weekend could be more than just a turkey coma? How about doing one thing each day for someone else. Could you visit a sick friend? Could you make a long-overdue phone call? Could you serve others? Could you invite a friend over for a meal? Could you meet an old friend for coffee?
4. Back to the future. Write some notes to people who have helped you along the way, someone you have lost track of over the years and would be blessed to hear from you.
5. Determine to bless, not be blessed, this year. Are you expecting that grumpy family member to make you feel good this year? Not going to happen. How about you making a plan to bless them? This may be tough, depending on how difficult they are, but it can be done pretty simply. Just find small ways to pay attention. If you ask questions, look directly at people, listen to their stories, and show an interest, you will be a blessing to that difficult person. Trust me, if they really are difficult, most people have turned them off, and your care will be noticed.
David Curry
Read all of David Curry's blogs at
http://blog.rescue-mission.org or visit the Rescue Mission at
http://www.rescue-mission.org
Posted by Rescue Mission Team on Wed, Nov 09, 2011
Life has lots of challenges and there are seasons where it seems like there are problems and obstacles everywhere. Certainly for many people the past three years have been difficult, uncertain, and scary.
Reading the paper or watching the news won't get you any assurance that things are going to get better. Hoping that the next election cycle will clear out the folks you dont' like and put in leaders with all the answers is a fools game.
So if uncertainty is around us, how are we to stay healthy and sane?
Don't focus on the negative, uncertainty, but count your blessings in the moment.
Having been in some of the most impoverished parts of this world, I know that you'll find happy people everywhere, even in desperate poverty. When you focus on what you have, no matter how small, and build on that foundation you will be creating strength, showing gratitude, and working with the only thing you have to work with: this moment.
Yet most people focus on the future, what they don't have, and where they'd like to be. This makes us miserable and unfocused. It also brings all the outside uncertainty into our lives and compounds the difficulties.
Does it matter what Greece does? What if the stock market goes down? What if you get sick? What if business doesn't pick up? What if....STOP!!!!!!
Just focus on what you've got and start working to the best of your ability. It's the only way to build a happy healthy life.
What do you think? Why is it hard to focus on the good and so easy to get drawn into "what if"?
David Curry
Read all of David Curry's blogs at
http://blog.rescue-mission.org or visit the Rescue Mission at
http://www.rescue-mission.org
Posted by Rescue Mission Team on Thu, Nov 03, 2011
A big part of being content and happy, whether at work or in life, is knowing the things you can't control, and trying to let those things take care of themselves, and pouring yourself into the things you can control
Turns out there is a lot you can control, but not nearly as much as you think.
You can't control the economy, but you can control you investment in your work
You can't control others, but you can control how you interact
You can't control others reaction, but you can control your input.
You can't control everything you hear, but you can control everything you say.
You can't control who your family is, but you can pick your friends.
You can't control if people will appreciate your work, but you can pour your heart into it.
You can't control everything you see, but you can choose to look for beauty.
You can't control what others think of you, but you can control your self-talk.
It's easy to see there's more to add to this list. Remember to concentrate on the things you can control, and never be passive in those areas. Yet remain open handed towards the things that are outside your reach.
What would you add to this list?
David Curry.
Read all of David Curry's blogs at
http://blog.rescue-mission.org or visit the Rescue Mission at
http://www.rescue-mission.org
Posted by Rescue Mission Team on Wed, Nov 02, 2011
There is a philosophical thread that runs through the minds of some that goes like this: If you want to have a long, happy life, engage in a life of leisure. Find easy jobs, take lots of vacations, get rich and retire early. Nevermind that these ideas are contrary (easy job doesn't equal getting rich), people are looking for jobs that give them lots of vacation, summers off, and more.
Sounds great, except it doesn't work like that. In fact, it works just the opposite.
Life gets more interesting when you engage with it. Work is a primary part of that process. People who are engaged in solving problems, in serving others, in doing good, in creating and producing, are happier healthier people.
Sitting around, seeking pleasure for it's own sake, leads to stagnation and boredom.
There is some old, home spun wisdom that says, "Pants wear out faster sitting down than moving around", that probably sums it up better than I ever could.
Do you disagree? If so let me know how this isn't correct. Love to hear you thoughts.
David Curry
Read all of David Curry's blogs at
http://blog.rescue-mission.org or visit the Rescue Mission at
http://www.rescue-mission.org
Posted by Rescue Mission Team on Wed, Oct 26, 2011
People often don't mind challenges and obstacles, yet people say that change and problems cause them stress? We know that people need to be challenged and that learning itself is about stretching ourselves beyond what we currently believe we are capable of achieving, yet people are so stressed out that it is hard to know when to push and when to pull back.
What is the answer?
Here's a good formula to remember to help see what might be causing stress and to create environments where people can be challenged without getting overly stressed out:
High Demands + Low Control = Stress
When we have the demands, but no way to control the outcome we get freaked out. For some managers it may mean that you need to make sure that those who work for you have the authority to make decisions that will affect the outcomes. For those affected in situations where you have no control, it may mean focusing on those things you can control.
The fact is that we can't control everything, some circumstances are outside of our reach, but we can control many things and the systems which we create.
What are some ways we can alleviate stress so that we can be happier, healthier people?
David Curry
Read all of David Curry's blogs at
http://blog.rescue-mission.org or visit the Rescue Mission at
http://www.rescue-mission.org
Posted by Rescue Mission Team on Mon, Aug 01, 2011
When you think of benefits you could provide your team, you think of health care, vacation days, bonuses, money, and titles of authority. Here's another, often forgotten, way to bless your team and those around you: honor and respect their time.
Here's a few simple ways to do that:
- Don't make them wait for you
- Don't block out their time, and then cancel at the last minute
- Don't hold them hostage in pointless meetings
- Respect their personal time.
Many leaders, and people in general, forget the common courtesy of timeliness from time to time. It's good to be reminded occasionally that you bless others when you respect their time.
David Curry
Read all of David Curry's blogs at
http://blog.rescue-mission.org or visit the Rescue Mission at
http://www.rescue-mission.org